Synopsis
The highly talented composer Johannes Brahms was a close friend of Clara and Robert Schumann. His work is often put on a par with Beethoven’s. This docudrama paints a vivid picture of his musical pursuits and private life.When Johannes Brahms was born in Hamburg in 1833, no one could have known that he would one day be a child prodigy who would leave a lasting mark on music history. In the opinion of international music critics, the grandiose symphonic power of his music, the richness of his themes and the concentrated form of his symphonies are on a par with Beethoven’s greatest works. And yet Brahms suffered from melancholy throughout his life and is thus often regarded as a solitary, tragic genius. What influenced and inspired him? Who was it that triggered such complex emotions, which he then expressed in his musical masterpieces? The women in his life certainly sparked his creativity. In particular his friendship – or, better said, his deep, unfulfilled love – for the famous but much older pianist Clara Schumann would accompany him throughout his lifetime. Although Brahms ended up putting his art before his love life, one can feel his anguished devotion to Clara in his music – music that still today inspires writers, filmmakers and musicians the world over. The docudrama takes us back to the nineteenth century to immerse us in the life and career of the highly talented composer and combines dramatic re-enactments with documentary sequences, painting a vivid picture of Brahms’s musical pursuits and private life.